Profiting God's Kingdom - God's Calling

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The Great Commission

After Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection He returned in the flesh one last time to His apostles and instructed them in the Great Commission. These are Christ’s last words of instruction to us, as recorded by Matthew, before his final ascension to the spirit world.

Matthew 28:18-20 -- And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’*


The Kingdom of God and Profiting His Kingdom

A couple of posts ago, “The Kingdom of God” on 8/27/10, I rambled on about my opinion as to what and where God’s Kingdom is. I concluded (rightly or wrongly) that God’s Kingdom is both on this Earth and in the Spirit world. I also concluded (rightly or wrongly) that God has not yet decided to take control of His Kingdom but is still in the process of building His kingdom using us, His followers here on Earth, to implement the Great Commission of spreading his Gospel to all the peoples of the world. So, doing God’s work to profit His kingdom means doing what we as individuals can do to implement the Great Commission. (Again folks, this is my opinion. I have not been able to build a Biblical defense for this position but will continue to use the term with this meaning.)

I have come to the opinion that once we have completed the Great Commission God will take control of His kingdom. I also developed the opinion that to “Profit God’s Kingdom” or to “Build God’s Kingdom” means to push the Great Commission forward and spread Christ’s ministry to as many people as possible and expand God’s “Christian” Kingdom as far as possible.

Okay. So, how do we go about doing that? Evangelism. And what is Evangelism?

Wikipedia defines Evangelism as: The practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity, where the scriptures often describe "evangelism" as "spreading the Gospel".

Sounds simple. All we have to do is let other people know about Christ and ask them to completely dedicate their life to Him. No problem. Hmmm. I fear it may go a little deeper than that. A simple 15-minute discussion with another that ends with you saying, “Thanks for listening and now please give your life to Christ thank you very much and have a great day.” Is not in itself doing God’s work to profit His kingdom. It may be a start, but there is much more to it. The objective is not to simply “tell” people about Christ as our savior but to lead them down the path toward accepting Christ in their hearts and handing control of their life to God.


Our God Given Talents

In another previous posting, “Our Talents From God, Pride, and Humility” on 6/2/10 I wrote:

Each one of us has things that we do that we are really good at. Things that bring us joy, bring others joy, make us very productive, and, in general, have the capability of profiting God’s Kingdom. As we journey through life we try new things (jobs, hobbies, tasks, etc.) some of which are whimsical, some just passing fancies, some life changing. Some of them we work really hard at but just cannot seem to get it and, as a result we eventually abandon them. Others we try, do really well at it, enjoy it, and it then becomes part of who we are. It becomes part of our “skill set” or “Talents”. We each have a unique set of (God given) talents. No two of us are exactly alike. Yes, there are others that have a talent like one of yours, but not like all of yours. As Christians, we are asked to use our unique set of talents to profit God’s Kingdom.

Romans 12:3-8 -- For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

We can, on a daily basis, profit God’s kingdom by using our God given talents in such a way that we provide an example to others of God’s grace and blessings. We can use our talents and give public recognition and praise to God for providing us with the talents. We can also on a routine basis let others know how God has provided us with so many blessings and that we trust Him and follow Him wherever he leads us. When you come right down to it, simply living a Christian life while proclaiming God’s greatness profits God’s kingdom.


God’s Calling

I believe there is another, more focused task that God “calls” for us to do in order to implement the Great Commission and profit His kingdom. A calling is God’s personal and individual invitation to you to carry out a unique task that he has assigned specifically to you. This calling may require a complete dedication to the task. I know a young lady who, immediately after graduating from nursing school, moved to a third world country to provide health care to the people there. Now that is a dedicated calling. God Bless You for the work you are doing. Others choose a vocation that supports their calling such as priests, ministers, Christian youth directors, public servants, etc. Still others (and I am sure that these are probably the vast majority of Christians) are called to use their talents in such a way as to advance the work of an existing volunteer organization by taking an active role in accomplishing that organization’s Christian mission. These would include things like ministering to prisoners, visiting homebound people, and providing support and care to those who need help. God’s callings are endless. The question is: “What is your calling.” What has God assigned to you?


What Is Your Calling?

Discovering what God is calling you to do is not a quick process. I found that it took much prayer and patience to discover what he has assigned me. I found myself asking God daily what he wanted me to do with the life I have left in order to advance His kingdom. For so long I received no instruction. Then suddenly it was there, a crystal clear assignment from God. Thank you Lord.

If you have not yet discovered what God is calling you to do pray to Him constantly, asking Him for the assignment. It may take a while before you get a response but it will come. I believe that God really wants us to think hard and long about it before he reveals it to us.

God's calling for you will bring great challenges, often distress and frustration. You cannot succeed at this task on your own. Only through the constant guidance and help of the Holy Spirit will you be able to carry out your God-appointed mission. A personal relationship with Jesus guarantees that the Holy Spirit will live within you, giving you power and direction. Without the Holy Spirit's guidance you will be guessing at what your calling is. You will rely on your own wisdom, and you will be wrong.


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